Why are hi-end active monitors not more popular?


I was just curious why more home systems don't utilize active monitors from hi-end manufacturers. Dynaudio, Focal, PMC and Genelec to name a few seem to have very high value offerings that, on the surface, appear taylor made for a simple system. Just add a cd player with volume and balanced outs or a hi-end dac connected to a music server. Pros and cons are appreciated. A home consumer version seems to have already made it to market in the NHT XDs system. I haven't heard the NHT system and would appreciate your comments.
ghasley

Showing 1 response by flrnlamb

Give me great sounding active speaker over a passive speaker with mega buck amps any day! The passive speaker will likely still lag seriously in the dynamics and dynamic transparancy/realism department, IME.
Otherwise, some of the simple crossover designs, which act more like active speakers, are also a strong consideration.
I think the NHT active system, which sells for like $8k wiht sub, er whatever, stomps on most any highfi setup out there, personally! That's my opinion, of course. But then they're not selling many of those systems, relatively. So there you are.
I still think speakers with little or no crossover are a much more viable option, if done right! You get the benefits of an active system, with more flexiblity, lower manufacturing cost, and greater marketability.
Would like to see more of that option, for sure!